IDF Strikes Hamas Commander Hiding at Deir al-Balah Hospital; Separate Fire Kills 3 Palestinians Including Hamouda al-Attar

On Saturday, August 29, 2026, the Israeli military said it struck and killed a Hamas commander in the Deir al-Balah area of central Gaza who it said had been planning terror attacks and was found hiding within the compound of Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital. The IDF said it took steps to reduce civilian harm and cast the strike as evidence of 'Hamas's cynical use of humanitarian infrastructure,' embedding itself within medical facilities. Separately, Israeli strikes and gunfire elsewhere in central Gaza killed three more Palestinians and wounded others the same day, according to local health officials; among the dead was Hamouda al-Attar, whose funeral was held at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, with mourners photographed carrying his body. The deaths came as the toll of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire continued to climb despite the truce.